Georgia

As part of the EU's Eastern Partnership, in June 2014, Georgia and the European Union signed this agreement, which includes a free trade area and EU's support in political reforms and in conflict resolution between Georgia and the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In November 2014, Russia and Abkhazia signed a military agreement and Russia and South Ossetia are expected to sign a similar treaty on alliance and integration in February 2015.

"Azerbaijan is arming to the teeth. Armenia is growing increasingly disillusioned with Russia, its main protector. And the potential for armed conflict in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region appears higher than it has been in years."

Leslie H. Gelb comments, "The president's decision to send Georgian troops to Afghanistan will infuriate Moscow -- and reveals his lack of appreciation for exactly what it takes to accomplish big priorities."

Veteran Eurasia expert Steven Pifer says Vice President Joseph Biden's trip to Ukraine and Georgia was meant to balance President Barack Obama's Moscow summit earlier in the month, but in both countries, Biden had to convey tough messages.

Robert E. Hunter, who was U.S. ambassador to NATO during the Clinton administration, says he does not expect NATO foreign ministers to enlarge the alliance to include Georgia or Ukraine at the next meeting in December.

Robert E. Hunter, a former U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, says Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili miscalculated by sending troops into South Ossetia in mid-August, but in the end, "Russia is the loser here."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), advisers to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, make recommendations for U.S. policy toward Russia and Georgia. In an op-ed, Graham and Lieberman say the United States and Europe should work to prevent Russia from "achieving its strategic objectives in Georgia."

Given the tarnished record of George W. Bush’s “freedom agenda,” the idea of promoting democracy throughout the world is losing traction with both Democrats and Republicans, write James Goldgeier and Derek Chollet.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

The authors argue that the United States has responded inadequately to the rise of Chinese power and recommend placing less strategic emphasis on the goal of integrating China into the international system and more on balancing China's rise.

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »